Under a schedule prepared by the Turkish Ministry for Culture and Tourism in an attempt to promote Turkey in Russia, which declared 2008 the Year of Turkish Culture, a number of activities will be held in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kazan and Sochi. According to the report by the Anatolia News Agency, the Year of Turkish Culture will officially start with a concert by the Presidential Symphony Orchestra at Moscow's International Music Hall on 8 April. Tarkan, a popular singer well known in Russia, will also take part in the activities for Turkish culture year.

Tarkan Specially Invited

Officials from the Russian Federation's Culture and Cinema Federal Agency (Roskultura), the institution responsible for co-organizing the events, reportedly indicated that Tarkan's participation in the project will make a substantial contribution to Turkey's promotion in Russia. Reports say that officials from co-organizer Roskultura announced the date of Tarkan's concert as May 27, which is celebrated as "day of the city" in St. Petersburg. Organizers are still in contact with their Russian counterparts to determine the concert date, it has been reported. The exact schedule for Tarkan's concert will be finalized soon.

Other Artists

Erener will also take part in the events. Erener will perform Turkish folk songs with a jazz rendition in her concert. Ferah will take the stage with a rock group to entertain rock-lovers in Russia. Other Turkish artists who will contribute to the project include jazz singer Ayşe Tütüncü. Conductor Emre Aracı (whose musical essays have been contributed to Tarkan Deluxe) will give a concert to be accompanied by the renowned Russian artist Yuri Bashmet. The "Taxim Trio," formed with the participation of clarinettist Hüsnü Şenlendirici, İsmail Tunçbilek and Aytaç Doğan, will give a concert of traditional Turkish tunes for the Russians in Moscow. The activities also include a dance performance and a photo exhibition on Russia and Istanbul, featuring renowned Turkish photographer Ara Güler.

Conferences and panel discussions will also be held in Moscow, which will host an exhibition that will feature contemporary examples from Turkish art in the second half of the year. Turkish culture year activities will also feature at a Moscow book fair in September. The fair will host a number of renowned Turkish writers and artists who will promote their works at the venue.

Russians will also have the opportunity to sample Turkish food with special dishes to be prepared by renowned Turkish chefs, served at a special event in Moscow.

The Moscow Film Festival is expected to focus more on Turkish productions this year. "Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım" (The Girl with the Red Scarf), a 1970s classic Turkish movie adapted from the novel by Chinghiz Aitmatov, will be screened at the festival, to which the film's leading actors, Kadir İnanır and Türkan Şoray, will also be invited.

St. Petersburg: Jewel in the Russian Crown

The activities in St. Petersburg will include concerts by famous pop star Tarkan and renowned pianist Biret, and live performance by clarinet master Selim Sesler.

Jazz pianist and composer Kerem Görsev will take to the stage for a concert accompanied by the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra. Mercan Dede will also give a concert in the city. Turkish-born universally acclaimed music artist Mercan Dede, also known as DJ Arkın Allen, whose music is a fusion of digital and electronic sounds with traditional Turkish and other oriental music as well as Sufi music, will impress Russians in an unconventional way.

In addition to performance of the Sema, a ritual dance that forms an integral part of the Mevlevi religious ceremonies in Anatolia, a Turkish rock band will greet audience in Russia's resort city Sochi, where pianist Ayşe İdiz will also on stage after her performance in Kazan.

Meanwhile, an exhibition to promote classical Turkish paper marbling art ebru will be held in St. Petersburg, where another exhibition will feature historical artifacts currently preserved at the Topkapı Palace to promote Turkish culture in Russia.